Capturing the Moment

   The oceanic white tip shark, ( Carcharhinus longimanus) can often be encountered swimming with pods of short fin pilot whales off the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. They are present in all tropical seas and responsible for most of the injuries and deaths during big shipwreck and airwreck disasters, like that of the USS Indianapolis in 1945 made famous in the retelling in the movies Jaws.       I have swam with these sharks on two different occasions and both times the curiousity of the shark was evident. You can see in the video how the shark is not scared at all, and swims right towards me. This is how it checks to see just how easy a meal this new creature might be. I take solace in the fact that I also appear as a predator, with my eyes facing forward and swimming with confidence, in the crystal clear Hawaiian waters.   There are often small pilot fish that hover around these sharks, picking up morsels of food that the sharks discards. One such fish can be seen swimm

 How much of the island of Kauai could you really see in just two days. Read on and see how I managed to fit just about every corner of the island into two long days of driving and then think to yourself what you could do with an entire week!  Starting off centrally located was key. I stayed at the Beach Hostel in Kepa'a, which is about twenty minutes north of the airport. I separated my two days into a southern and a northern itinerary. There is one big road that goes around the coastline of Kauai, with a few roads heading inland to see waterfalls, rivers, and canyons. The coastline is awash with beautiful white sand beaches, and a number of hotels, resorts, vacation rentals, and restaurants to keep the regular tourists busy. But for the adventurous visitors who want to get off the beaten track Kauai is an untapped playground.  Just south of the airport lies Kalapaki Beach and Nauwiliwili Bay were surf lessons can be watched with mai tai in hand on the lanai of the f

Great crew of my last trip of the season Kyle, Amanda, and Hannah   As I listen to some of my favorite go-to slideshow songs from this season I can't help but reminisce on the amazing sights, wildlife, people, and events that shaped the 2016-17 Hawaii season aboard UnCruise's Safari Explorer. Green hills after all the rain on Maui   The season got off to an auspicious start as Mitch and I were forced to begin the first trip of the season without a boat! But we found a way to rock it and even sneak a little more in than usual. It was a wet winter, with some solid rainstorms coming through. Even though this brought some cloudy weather for a while the lush green islands lasted all season. The crew this season was filled with many veterans so we quickly found our mid-season form.   The water stayed warm all winter, never falling below 77 degrees. It was a great year for turtles and whales as the sightings for both spiked way above last years numbers. Lana